


I'm Dating the Babysitter

by Krank



Series: Babysitter [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Babysitting, Children, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 19:50:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1022714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krank/pseuds/Krank
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Harry babysits Niall’s nephew and Niall realizes some things that he maybe already knew.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Dating the Babysitter

A shrill ringing noise startled Niall from his sleep. There was a grumble beside him as he blindly reached for the annoying piece of technology doing a little dance on his bedside table. He brought it to his ear.

“’lo?” He rasped, squinting in the sunlight shining through his window.

_“Hi, I need a favor.”_

Greg.

“Do you _realize_ what time it is?” Niall moaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. There was a similar moan of agreement beside him.

_“Do_ you _even realize what time it is?”_ His brother replied.

“It’s fucking early, is what it-“

_“Niall, it’s almost noon.”_

Niall paused. He cleared his throat. “What do you want?”

He could hear his brother chuckle on the other end of the line.

_“Well, you know that show that Denise has wanted to see?”_

“Maybe?” Niall flopped back on to his pillow, realizing this was probably going to turn in to a lengthy conversation.

_“I finally scored some tickets for us to go. Tonight. So… We sort of need someone to watch Emmet.”_

Oh.

Emmet was Niall’s five-year-old nephew. He was a great kid, and Niall always had fun with him. His mother liked to say that they shared the same maturity level, at which Niall would pretty much agree.

“Sorry, Greg, but I have to work tonight. Volunteered for a Saturday shift.”

_“Niall, please…”_ His brother pleaded.

“Look, I would if I could, man. I can’t just call in sick so I can babysit your kid.”

There was a moment of silence on the phone. Niall waited, knowing that something was likely brewing. His brother didn’t give up that easily.

Then, it came:

_“What about Harry?”_

No.

“Greg, no. Not an option.”

_“I’ve met him once or twice, he’s a good lad.”_

Correction: Harry Styles was _amazing_. They had been dating for a few months, and Niall still wondered sometimes how he had managed that one. They had been introduced to each other through a mutual friend and had one of those rom-com moments where they just clicked. Harry was funny and awkward, and had a huge heart. He worked at a travel agency, and would always come home and tell Niall all about his customers: the newlyweds he had helped book a trip to Dubai, or a group of ladies who were on their way to New York. He got excited about other people’s happiness.

“You want me to ask my boyfriend-“

“Ask me what?” Harry’s head popped in to Niall’s line of sight. Niall smiled up at him and shook his head, dismissing his curiosity. It didn’t work very well, though. Instead, Harry climbed up on his hips and stared down at him, intent on an answer. Niall rolled his eyes.

_“Emmet’s a good kid, Niall. It wouldn’t be that hard!”_ Greg held strong, not backing down.

“We’ve only been together for a coupla’ months, Greg! I’m not just going to ask him to babysit my nephew while I’m at work. ‘Sa little forward.”

“Babysit?” Harry asked, dragging a long finger through Niall’s sad excuse for chest hair. When Niall ignored him again, Harry frowned and wrestled the cell phone from his love’s fingers.

“Yeah, Greg? It’s Harry Styles. I’ll do it.”

———

Harry stared at the five-year-old boy standing by the door of his and Niall’s shared flat. His parents had just left, and Harry had seen how excited they were for their night out together. It was an affirmation that he had made the right choice in looking after this kid. How hard could it be, anyways? He was an awesome person.

Emmet Horan had a head of dirty blond curls and blue, blue eyes. He was wearing denim trousers and a plaid shirt, and had on an Avengers backpack. He was _adorable_.

Well, may as well get this party started. Harry suddenly leapt on to the couch. “The floor’s lava, you know.”

Emmet stared back at him. “What?”

“The floor. It’s a trap. Keeps burglars out.” Harry nodded towards the old hardwood.

Emmet looked down at his feet. “Feels alright to me.” His voice was high, and it sounded so cute with his strong Irish brogue.

“It’s a gradual thing. The longer you stand there, the hotter it becomes. Your feet will melt off.”

At this, the small boy launched himself at the couch, hopping up beside Harry and looking back at the floor. He looked up at his curly-haired babysitter, waiting for further instruction. Harry knew that he had his undivided attention.

“Well, this is all well and good, but how do you suppose we can get to the kitchen for food?” Harry asked.

Emmet looked up at him with wide eyes, shrugging his small shoulders.

Harry rolled his eyes mockingly. “It seems I have to teach you everything, don’t I?”

———

Niall breathed in the cool London air. It was six o’clock in the evening and he had just stepped out for a quick break. Niall worked as a sound technician at the BBC, working on their live shows as well as their pre-recorded ones. He loved his job, though his dream was to get himself in to a recording studio some day and actually produce music, and maybe some day record his own.

As it was he spent a lot of time plucking his guitar strings at home. Harry loved it when he played guitar, and Niall knew this. He used it to his advantage on more than one occasion because he knew it got Harry in the mood when he would sing him a song. On other days Harry would sit with his head on Niall’s shoulder and just listen. He was his biggest fan.

Niall pulled out his phone and rang Harry to see how things were going and if Emmet had driven him crazy yet.

“Hullo!” Harry’s voice sang through the phone after the second ring.

“Hey, babe, how are things-“  
  
Niall was cut off by the sound of a loud yell.

_“Harry, get off the floor! You’ll melt up!”_

There was a pause.

“Things are going admirably,” Harry replied.

“You told him the floor was lava, didn’t you?” Niall asked, ducking in to a small café down the street from the BBC building.

Harry chuckled. “Well what was I supposed to do?”

“Oh, gosh, I don’t know – put a movie in, play a video game,” Niall dug in his pocket for some loose change to pay the barista.

“Well there isn’t much imagination in that.”

Niall grinned in to the phone, but startled when there was a crash. “What was that?”

“MAN DOWN!” Harry bellowed.

Niall waited for him to say something else, for there to be a wail from his nephew – _something_! “Harry-“

_“I’m all out of fuel!”_ Emmet’s squeaky voice finally shouted. _“I’m not going to survive!”_

Niall listened in as Harry spoke. “Well you know what lava fighters use as fuel, right?”

_“No, what?”_

“Vegetables.”

Niall threw his head back and laughed, getting a few looks from the other patrons in the shop. He wished his boyfriend good luck in his endeavors of getting his nephew to eat vegetables, told him he loved him, and hung up.

He kept a shit-eating grin on his face even after heading back to work with his coffee. He had a warm feeling in his chest, making his heartbeat a little faster. If he didn’t know that it was Harry that had put it there, he’d think there was something wrong with him. There wasn’t, though; he was just ridiculously in love.

 

“Love you, too,” Harry mumbled in to the phone. He tucked it back in to his pocket and turned towards the five-year-old standing behind him, looking a little put out at the idea of vegetables. Harry crossed his arms.

“Now that I think about it, you know what lava fighters _also_ run on?”

Emmet shrugged.

_“Pizza!”_

Harry was almost certain he was the best babysitter ever.

———

Harry bundled Emmet up in his light coat that his mother had sent along with him, and they made the quick walk down to the pizza place closest to their flat. It was a little independent shop, and it was _really_ good.

“How long have you lived with Uncle Niall?” Emmet asked as he pulled a chunk of cheese off of his kids-size pizza.

Harry took a moment to think about it. “I guess it’s been about six months since I met him… And we’ve been living together for four?”

It was sort of funny, actually. Harry had had no intentions of moving in with Niall so quickly. He wasn’t really the type to rush in to things or move too fast. He liked to let things develop and make sure he was making the right decision. He had learned the hard way, having been hurt too many times with break-ups and simultaneously being homeless.

However, shortly after meeting Niall, Harry had found out that his building had been sold and that all the tenants were getting evicted. He tried to fight it, however he found out his lease was conditional. Harry had made a brief oversight on the part that said his landlord could basically kick him out whenever he pleased.

Niall had offered his couch (but mainly his bed) to Harry to help him out, and Harry had simply never left. To be fair, Niall had helped him in the hunt for a new flat. He’d gone to look at places with him, and was a big help by pointing out the obvious flaws in each place: _‘the window in your front room looks out on a supermarket. That’s not very nice’,_ and Harry’s favorite, _‘there’s not enough natural light in your bedroom.’_ After a month of Niall disapproving of every flat they saw and of waking up next to each other, cooking breakfast together, having afternoon naps on the couch and hosting football-watching parties with their friends, it became impossible for Harry to leave.

“Where do you sleep?” Emmet continued.

Harry choked on his mouthful of crust. “What?”

Emmet frowned. “Well you live with Uncle Niall, but he only has one bedroom. Where do you sleep?”

“The roof.” Harry blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Yeah, I sleep on the roof.”

“I don’t believe you. I may be five, but I’m not stupid.”

Harry laughed. “You’re cute. But seriously, I don’t think I’m the one that should be answering these questions. Ask your parents, maybe.”

Emmet sighed, still frowning. He felt sympathy for the little kid. He remembered being at the age where everyone would knowingly keep things from you, like you couldn’t handle it. And it wasn’t that he thought Emmet couldn’t handle it, but it was clear that his parents hadn’t gotten around to telling him about his _Uncle Niall’s_ lifestyle and what it all meant, and Harry wasn’t going to be that bubble-burster.

“How about some ice cream after this?” Harry asked, blatantly steering the conversation in to a more distracting direction.

Emmet’s face lit up, and he tried to shove more pizza in to his mouth to make dessert come faster.

 

They returned to the flat after devouring some homemade ice cream from a little stand in the park across the street. The sun had set fully, and the city was lit up for another night. Harry and Emmet were settled on the couch, bellies full to the point where Harry had slipped in to some of Niall’s track suit bottoms when they got home, skinny jeans be damned.

They were watching The Avengers, which was clearly Emmet’s obsession. Harry was that young once, and also went through phases of aggressively liking something for the span of a few months like Power Rangers, and later Pokémon. It was fun being completely invested in something. He supposed people kept that up, as they got older, only with more grown-up things like jobs and relationships. There was a certain bottle-blond that Harry was a _huge_ fan of…

“I wish you were my uncle.” Emmet blurted, voice sounding thick and tired.

“Hmm?” Harry murmured, blinking rapidly to keep his eyes open.

“You’re really cool. I want you to be my uncle,” Emmet elaborated, resting his head on Harry’s arm.

Harry said nothing and instead looked down at the head full of curls, a soft smile on his lips. He wrapped his arm around the little boy and pulled him closer, sliding his hips forward on the couch so he was reclined a little more. He knew he’d be asleep in a matter of minutes, and he hoped that when he woke next that Niall would be home.

———

As Niall neared the front entrance of his building, he saw his sister-in-law climb out of the car parked on the street. She was all done up and looked beautiful, Niall had to admit. She joined him and they made the journey in the elevator together. Niall was glad he could afford a place with an elevator.

“Did you have a good time?”

“It was wonderful. How was work?”

“The same as always.”

Niall fumbled for his key and let them both in, being greeted by a dimly lit, quiet apartment. He crossed the floor to the doorway of the living room, peering in to check for any signs of life. He felt his heart swell for the second time that night as he looked at the scene in front of him.

Harry was propped rather awkwardly on the couch, head sideways and resting on Emmet’s head, who was tucked in to Harry’s side. They were both fast asleep, mouths open. The menu screen to The Avengers was on loop, flickering and lighting up their faces with white-blue light.

Denise came up beside him. “I think you’ve bagged a keeper there, Ni,” she said softly giving him a nudge.

Niall looked on for a moment longer at Harry’s frowning face that he sometimes wore when he was dreaming, and noticed the sheen of drool on his lip. “Yeah, I think I have.”

“Now that Em has met Harry I think it’s time that Greg and I tell him about you. Explain it all to him, you know?” She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.

“Yeah?” Niall turned to look at her, a smile on his face. She nodded and he wrapped her in a small hug.

He crossed the living room to fetch his nephew, carefully reaching for Emmet and lifting him off of the couch slowly as not to disturb him too much. The boy woke up, but just barely. He snuggled in to Niall’s shoulder and let his uncle take him over to his mother.

“Please thank Harry for us when he’s alive enough, ok?” She whispered as she stepped out in to the hall, Emmet’s small backpack on her shoulder and her little boy propped on her hip.

“Of course! You sure you don’t want me to walk you out to the car?” Niall asked.

She shook her head and she was off, heels clicking on the marble tiles as she made her way to the elevator.

Niall returned to his boyfriend, who looked extremely uncomfortable but was still fast asleep. Niall shut off the television.

“Babe,” he whispered, running a hand through Harry’s curls.

“Huh?” Harry startled, blinking owlishly up at him. He took a moment to actually register who it was he was looking at and then he smiled, wrapping his arms around Niall’s neck and pulling him in for a kiss. “Hi.”

“Emmet just left. Denise says thank you.” Niall is about to step back and pull Harry up when he makes grabby hands, causing Niall to sigh. He reaches down and supports Harry’s legs, lifting him up like a koala. Harry wraps his legs around Niall’s waist and buries his nose in his love’s neck.

“Emmet’s really cute. Good kid.” Harry murmurs as Niall begins the journey to their bedroom.

“Mm,” Niall replies.

“He says I remind him of Captain American.”

“Yeah?” Niall goes along with the conversation, loving it when Harry babbles when he’s tired.

“Yeah. I think I’m more like Thor. Strong. Rugged. Dangerously good-looking.”

Niall snorts, holding on to Harry tighter as he finally makes it to their room. “If anything you’re a Loki. Wiry, socially awkward, heavily sarcastic-“

“Okay, okay. God. Nice romantic partner you are.”

He sets Harry down on the bed and they struggle out of their clothes. Niall makes Harry keep his tracksuit bottoms on because he likes the way he looks in them. They fall asleep in each other’s arms, and Niall determines that he is probably one of the happiest men in the world; or Great Britain, at least. Best to aim low.

 

In the morning they are woken by another phone call, though this time it is only Emmet, who politely asks to speak with Harry.

“Hello?” Harry croaks in his sexy morning voice. Niall kisses his shoulder in appreciation.

The brunette winces when Emmet begins screeching in to the phone.

“ _Good news! Mommy and Daddy told me that Niall loves you, so does this mean you can be my uncle now?”_


End file.
